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E36 (1991 - 1999) The E36 chassis 3-Series BMW was a huge hit among driving enthusiasts from the first moment the car hit the pavement. The E36 won numerous awards over the years it was produced and is still a favorite of many BMW enthusiasts to this day! -- View the E36 Wiki

Hey guys i was wondering since my bumper trims are faded what you guys recommend to do i was thinking of get them dyed or buy a trim restorer from an auto store or just buy new ones or just paint the old ones with plasti dip or black paint.

I always recommend using the Griot's Garage bumper & trim reconditioner. Unlike all the products available at your local big box auto parts store, this one actually contains black dye, which is permanent and will not ever wash off. Mine were quite faded, and I used the Mothers Back to Black initially. Looked good at first, but then looked absolutely terrible after a wash or two. That stuff is just wax based, so it comes right off and you're right back where you started, except a little worse... I then stripped all that gunk off and used the Griot's product. It has been years since I applied it and my trim still looks new. It's pricey, but worth every penny.

You could have knocked me over with a feather....I walked into Advance Auto today and they had a great big display of Griot's Garage products! Cheaper prices than on the Griot's website, and no shipping! Yippee!

Oh man, that's great! Their products are always incredible. They don't seem to sell them in any major Seattle retail stores, which is odd, since their HQ and (beautiful) flagship store is 40 minutes south in Tacoma. It has been a while since I've been inside an Advance, though. Advance and Autozone are both quite far away from me, but O'Reilly is about 1/4 mile away.

I always recommend using the Griot's Garage bumper & trim reconditioner. Unlike all the products available at your local big box auto parts store, this one actually contains black dye, which is permanent and will not ever wash off. Mine were quite faded, and I used the Mothers Back to Black initially. Looked good at first, but then looked absolutely terrible after a wash or two. That stuff is just wax based, so it comes right off and you're right back where you started, except a little worse... I then stripped all that gunk off and used the Griot's product. It has been years since I applied it and my trim still looks new. It's pricey, but worth every penny.

The only thing it comes with is the bottle of product and the applicator. You will need to source your own surface cleaner to remove any oil/grease/wax residue before applying. Also, I HIGHLY recommend removing all of your trim and dying it while it is not on the car. While their video shows them doing it with the trim on the car, it really shouldn't get on the paint (it's a dye, after all...), and it would take an eternity to mask everything off. It only takes a few minutes to pop off the trim, anyway. Once I got the trim off of my car, I cleaned all the grime buildup on my car which was trapped underneath the trim, and then fully washed each trim piece in my kitchen sink with soap and water.

As far as how long it takes, since my trim was quite faded (and yours likely is, too), I put three coats on my trim to fully darken it back to like-new. I'd say that all told it took me about three hours between removing the trim, cleaning everything, applying multiple coats of dye and waiting for it to dry between coats, and re-installation of the trim.